Refusing and Rushing Horses

Having a horse refuse a fence can be a frustrating and a scary experience. It happens to the best of us and usually our first reaction is to blame the horse. Take a step back and look at it from the horse’s perspective. Leave your crop back in the barn so you’re not tempted to use it—a refusal is usually a message from your horse that there is some reason they cannot jump. Recognize the communication and try to figure out what you or your environment is doing to impede your horse’s progress.

Remember that hitting your horse will just frustrate him even more, likely resulting in even more refusals. There is never a good reason to whip your horse for refusing a jump.

The four most common reason horses usually refuse and rush fences are:

• Rider error (improper balance, timing, bad line to the fence, etc)
• Lack of confidence— the fence is scary
• Lack of confidence—the fence or take off spot is challenging and the horse is unsure if he can do it successfully
• The horse is fatigued/sore and physically cannot jump

If your horse refuses fences because he just doesn’t feel like jumping, and you’re absolutely sure it’s not one of the four reasons above, then give that some thought. Maybe you need to go back to the basics and build a better relationship with your horse so that he wants to work for you, or you may want to consider giving your horse a different discipline that doesn’t involve jumping.

Also remember that horses get bored with monotonous routines, so changing up how and what you jump can make it more fun and interesting for your horse. Remember to only jump your horse one to two times a week. Jumping in excess will put your horse at risk for lameness.

Each of the reasons for refusal can be easily assessed and fixed:

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